Raoul Silva
Raoul Silva is the main antagonist in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall and is portrayed by actor Javier Bardem. Origin Backstory He was once a British agent, working under M when she was the head of Station H, an MI6 division based in Hong Kong before the Handover in 1997 (the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the British to the Chinese). His relationship with M was similar to that of Bond's, considering himself her "favorite". For M's part, she certainly held him in high esteem, telling Bond that he was a "brilliant" agent back then. Soon before the Handover, he acted beyond his professional duties, and was thus turned over to the Chinese in exchange for six other agents. For five months they tortured him, but he refused to give up his secrets. Upon learning it was M that gave him up, he tried to commit suicide, but the cyanide didn't work and left him disfigured. He survived and vowed revenge on M, becoming a cyber terrorist, and began planning his revenge. Film Summary for Character He engineered his own capture by Bond in order to confront her (after having anonymously taunted her with the message "Think on your sins" earlier in the film), then escaped when a virus from his laptop infected MI6's system as Q was attempting to decrypt it; the virus opened all electronically locked doors in the base, including the door to his cell. He intended to kill M at a public hearing, however Bond pursued and thwarted that plan before escaping with M up to Scotland. (So according to Q, Silva's attempt to kill M was years in the planning. Plan A was to get caught. Plan B was to make sure MI6 hacked into his computer so the doors will be unlocked. Plan 3 was get disguised as a cop and bombard in the public hearing to assassinate M.) At Bond's ancestral home, the eponymous Skyfall, he eventually managed to corner M in the estate's chapel. However, upon seeing that she was already mortally wounded, he broke down and became visibly upset that she was hurt. Then, realizing he can no longer bring himself to kill her, he forced his gun into her hand and held it to her temple while he pressed his head to the other side, begging her to kill them both with the same bullet. However, Bond hurled his father's old combat knife into Silva's back, killing him. Despite Silva being defeated, M succumbs to the bullet wound she sustained earlier on soon after, thus Silva's plan for revenge has finally succeeded. Background Information and Notes * Despite his chaotic methods, Silva maintained an air of calm and often handled things with ease. He was charismatic and very strategic, thinking of all of his plans in full detail and trying not to leave anything to chance, or else was very good at improvising. Silva was extremely intelligent, able not only to outsmart M, but Q and Bond as well, even going so far to use them as part of his plan. He was also sexually ambiguous; he had a female lover and also made strong overtures toward Bond, though what precisely he meant by it and whether he is actually bisexual is left up for debate. * Though Silva maintained a strong hatred towards M, he is also conflicted about her. He was convinced that he had survived to "look into her eyes one last time". During their confrontation in the MI6 cell room where he is held after his initial capture, he grew increasingly more agitated and deranged as she refused to show any remorse or regret for her actions, especially when she refuses to use his real name. He calls her "Mommy" or "Mother" multiple times, and he ultimately cannot bring himself to personally kill her. * It has been theorized that Silva had borderline personality disorder, which is characterized by intense fear of abandonment, emotional extremes, and an unstable sense of identity. Category:Skyfall characters Category:Villains Category:James Bond franchise characters Category:Killed by protagonist Category:Traitors Category:Federal agents Category:Spies Category:Male characters Category:Characters Category:Characters with a high body count Category:Characters played by Javier Bardem